Create a better newsletter

from Kansas State University

Professional templates for local newsletters are available Claustrophobic pages: columns of text crowd each other from the Department of Communications. To maintain and creep toward the page edge. Try increasing margin size that professional appearance, keep in mind some basic or adding more space around individual elements. rules of typography and publishing. Whispering headlines: fail to attract attention to the text Using fonts and styles they introduce. Headlines should be significantly larger Using a clear and readable font makes your document and bolder than the text they introduce. easier to read and understand. Avoid decorative fonts, Irregularly shaped blocks of copy: no consistent excessive underlining, or all caps in blocks of printed text. beginning point for each line. Flush left type is the easiest If your document will be used electronically, be sure the to read. Centered type is difficult to read because lines font is easy to read on a screen. Although serif fonts are without a consistent starting point can cause readers to typically used for large blocks of printed text, sans serif lose track of the text. fonts sometimes appear easier to read on a screen because Buried heads and subheads: headlines and subheads their visual “weight” is more uniform. isolated near column bottoms, followed by only one or two Serif fonts (Adobe Caslon Pro, Times, Palatino) are often lines of type. Try editing text or leaving column bottoms used for the main body text in books and magazines. uneven. Sans serif fonts (Arial, Futura, Helvetica, Myriad Pro) are Similar typefaces: headline and body typefaces that are often used for headlines. too similar in appearance (style, size, and weight). Aim for contrast. Columns Wide paragraphs of text force the reader’s eye to travel Underlining: undermines readability. Try to use boldface completely across the page before returning to the start or italic type for emphasis instead. More than a few of the next line. This slows reading progress because the underlined words cause visual clutter, forcing the reader reader is forced to find the correct line across a greater to separate the words from the horizontal lines. space on the page. Notice that most magazines and Box-itis and rule-itis: too many bordered page elements. newspapers use a multiple-column format for their pages. Some dated newsletter designs use a box to frame This keeps the reader’s eye focused on the story and each page and internal boxes around elements such as simplifies the task of reading. nameplates, pull-quotes, or sidebars, creating visual clutter. Avoid design problems Jumping horizons: text columns start at different locations Tombstoning: headlines or other highlighted type items within the pages of the same document. The “up-and- appear next to each other in adjacent columns. The reader down” effect bothers the reader and is unprofessional in may have difficulty deciding what element to read first. Try appearance. Start text the same distance from the top of changing column alignment, changing the page layout, or the page throughout a document. editing the text to stagger the headlines. Widows and orphans: (widow) a syllable, word, or less Trapped white space: a “hole” appears between a headline than a third of a line alone at the bottom of a paragraph and an adjacent graphic, or an article is too short to fill the or page; (orphan) a word isolated from the rest of the column to the next headline. Try adjusting the size of the paragraph to which it belongs at the top of a column or graphic adjusting the text so the white space falls at the page. Edit or rewrite to avoid unsightly typography. bottom of the page.

KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION AND COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SERVICE Floating heads and subheads: headlines and subheads Exaggerated tabs/indents: default tabs and indents in that seem unattached to the text they introduce. The word-processed files that are too large for the layout. impact of a heading is weakened if it isn’t immediately Adjust them to be proportionate with the type size and clear where it belongs. column width.

Unequal spacing: inconsistent space between elements. Cramped logos and addresses: vital information that is Pay attention to the space between: obviously squeezed in. Try placing the address or other important elements on the page first, then build the • headlines as related to top and sides of pages, as well document around them. as the text being introduced Too many typefaces: a mixture of typefaces, sizes and • subheads and text weights. Use the minimum number necessary to organize • captions and art information and create a hierarchy of importance. Each variation in type slows reading. • artwork and text Extra space after punctuation: use of two spaces at • column ends and bottom margins the end of a sentence. Electronic type inserts space appropriately after punctuation.

To request a newsletter design for your unit, contact University Printing at 785-532-1158, or the Department of Communications Publishing Unit at 785-532-1148.

Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service Contents of this publication may be freely reproduced for educational purposes. All other rights reserved. In each case, credit Publishing Unit Staff, Department of Communications and Agricultural Education, Create a Better Newsletter, Kansas State University, October 2011.